A Maui committee has approved a charter amendment that would increase the penalty for illegal vacation rentals to $20,000. The Maui News reports the Maui County Council committee voted Tuesday in favor of the measure that increases the fine for illegal transient accommodations and tacks on $10,000 for each day the unlawful operation continues.
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For the second time in less than a decade, the owner of roughly 1,800 acres of agricultural land in Upcountry Maui once envisioned for housing is trying to avoid foreclosure. The company, led by Janet Coflin, was in the midst of foreclosure litigation initiated in state court last year by Romspen Investment Corp., a mortgage financing company based in Canada.
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A nearly 29 percent property tax hike is under consideration for Maui homeowners who rent out their non-primary residences as transient vacation rentals. A transient vacation rental is defined as any housing unit rented for less than 180 days in which the owner or manager does not live on the property, according to Maui County's website.
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A nearly 29 percent property tax hike could be in store for Maui homeowners who rent out their non-primary residences as transient vacation rentals. Maui County's website defines a transient vacation rental as any housing unit rented for less than 180 days, in which the owner or manager does not live on the property.
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Regional Headlines

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned the Democratic establishment when she comprehensively kicked the ass of finance-friendly, seemingly untouchable Democrat-in-name-only incumbent Joe Crowley in a New York City primary race that she won on a Democratic Socialist platform of abolishing ICE, Medicare for all, a jobs guarantee, a housing guarantee, gun control, relief for Puerto Rico, and gun control. Ocasio-Cortez came to national attention in part thanks to a beautiful, inspiring, brilliant campaign video made for less than $10,000 by Means of Production, who have also gained national name-recognition among polticos as the kinds of visual storytellers whose work can change the world.
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Prices for homes sold on Hawaii island and Kauai in June were mostly higher compared with a year earlier, according to data released Thursday. The priciest home sales were on Kauai where single-family residences sold for a median $752,500 last month.
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A dispute over promises made 20 years ago by Bank of America to provide $150 million in mortgage loans to Native Hawaiians on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands land prompted Gov. David Ige to invite Bank of America officials to Hawaii this summer to discuss "a fair and final settlement."
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Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency reported Monday that 657 homes have been destroyed by the massive volcanic flow that began May 3 in Lower Puna and has since covered 6,164 acres with lava. The devastation of the volcanic activity can be seen in this picture taken Saturday of a home on Moku Street in Leilani Estates.
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Paul and Rose Utes, members of Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa, had to leave their home when lava from the Kilauea eruptions moved into their section of the Leilani Estates subdivision in Puna on the Big Island. At the time they heard the mandatory evacuation order, the couple, who own Black Rock Cafe in Pahoa, were prepping to cater food for Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva's parish visit that first weekend in May. The home of Victor Hoapili is illuminated by lava pouring from a fissure eruption of the Kilauea Volcano May 23 in the Leilani Estates near Pahoa, Hawaii.
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National Headlines

A search analytics firm has found that the number of online searches for payday loans far outranked mortgage-related queries over the past year in Canada. New data from SEMrush shows that payday loans came in first out of 10 different types of loans, garnering an average search volume of 29,000 a month on search engines such as Google.
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Authorities say a bomb threat is what prompted country group Rascal Flatts to abruptly end a concert in Indiana last week. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Department says the bomb threat made Thursday night for Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in suburban Indianapolis was deemed a credible danger.
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Is your purchasing heavily influenced by advertising? Be careful of that when you are dealing with home builders when buying a new construction home. Real estate broker, Kathy Sperl-Bell of Active Adults Realty in Delaware explains the ways home builders try to influence you to buy one if their homes.
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Aygoren oversees the editorial direction and content for ALM's Real Estate Media Group, including Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. In her tenure with ALM, she's held roles of increasing responsibility, including Managing Editor.
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